fbpx

Decisions, Decisions

The race for the 41st Assembly District is the perfect microcosm of the Jewish voting dilemma.
[additional-authors]
October 12, 2000

The race for the 41st Assembly District, which includes Santa Monica, Malibu, Brentwood and the southwestern San Fernando Valley, is the perfect microcosm of the Jewish voting dilemma: whether to cast one’s ballot for the Jewish candidate or the candidate who, although not Jewish, is favored by a majority of the community’s leaders.

On the one side is Republican Jayne Murphy Shapiro. A longtime Valley resident and registered nurse, Shapiro raised her four young sons on her own after her husband, Dr. William Shapiro, died in 1990 following a short but brutal bout with cancer. She managed to put all four boys through Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School in Northridge while also volunteering for Jewish organizations including AIPAC and The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ Valley Alliance.

A petite brunette with lightning-blue eyes, Shapiro, 54, has a substantial list of endorsements, including former Gov. Pete Wilson, former Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler and Earl Greinetz, past president of the Valley Alliance. A number of Shapiro’s supporters have crossed party lines to endorse her, a tribute to her long involvement in causes like the Valley Alliance (for which she was chair of the Women’s Division in the mid-1980s) and KIDSAFE, the organization she founded in 1995 to help get legislation passed to protect children from sexual predators.

Shirley Levine, principal of Heschel Day School, is one of those Democrats who have come out in support of Shapiro, saying the Republican candidate’s interest in doing right for the Jewish community and as an advocate for children are issues unrelated to party affiliation.

“It takes issues for me to cross party lines, [but] I think Jayne has proved universal in her appeal, in her advocacy for Jewish causes and for children,” Levine said. “She has certainly made a huge contribution to our school when we needed her, not just financially but through the hard work and hours she was willing to dedicate as a member of our board. She worked to make our school a success for years and years even after her children graduated. Jayne is the kind of person who looks at things and tries to figure out what is fair and what is just and how to make the world a better place.”

Ironically, Shapiro herself admits that she could “just as easily be a moderate Democrat.” Indeed, her positions on certain key issues lean more to the left than the right. For example, because of her late husband’s experience fighting cancer, she supports decriminalizing marijuana for medical use. She believes in a woman’s right to choose regarding reproductive health and would support funding to preserve the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Among her endorsements are two former leaders of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization of Women, hardly a conservative stronghold.

However, Shapiro says she chose the Republican Party because she is more comfortable as a fiscal conservative. She favors tort reform, expanded tax cuts and breaking up the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“I think people automatically assume Republicans are not for the environment, that they are not for control of guns,” she said. “There are people more to the right who hold that position, and the media tends to pick up on that, but that picture is not accurate.”

Shapiro faces stiff competition from opponent Fran Pavley, who holds the advantage in this heavily Democratic district. Pavley’s endorsements are even more impressive than Shapiro’s, including nearly every Democratic elected official from Gov. Gray Davis to Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) to Sheila Kuehl, whom she would be replacing, plus both major teachers unions (the California Teachers Association and United Teachers of Los Angeles) and L.A. city and county firefighters.

Pavley was the first mayor of the city of Agoura Hills and was later elected to four terms on the Agoura Hills City Council. She has an established reputation as a leader on environmental issues, serving as a member of the California Coastal Commission and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Advisory Committee. She has two grown children and lives with her husband, David, in Agoura Hills.

A former public school teacher, Pavley would bring to the job an insider’s view on education, one of the most important issues in this year’s election.

“I think the greatest difference between [myself and Shapiro] is my experience,” Pavley said. “My four terms as mayor and my years as a council member has allowed me to work with local, county, state and federal officials on a variety of issues. I’ve worked with current representatives like [County Supervisor] Zev Yaroslavsky, Congressman Brad Sherman and Sheila Kuehl for years and have a very good relationship with their staffs. They have endorsed me in this race not just because I am a Democrat but because they know I’m an effective leader.”

Pavley admits that, beyond working on campaigns for officials like Yaroslavsky and attending the various anti-hate rallies following the 1999 shootings at the North Valley Jewish Community Center, she has had little involvement in Jewish causes. However, she said if elected she would do her best to represent the interests of all the members of her district.

“Our city [of Agoura Hills] has been very active in passing anti-hate crime legislation, and as a schoolteacher I was extremely involved in teaching not only tolerance but appreciation for all races and religions,” Pavley said. “If elected, I will continue to support tolerance among people from all ethnic and religious groups.”

So there is the race: two strong women, each with unique qualifications for the California State Assembly. The decision in the 41st district will not be easy for voters not already committed to the Democratic or Republican parties. But if term limits have accomplished anything, they have at least made the entry of more varied candidates possible – and perhaps made state elections a little more compelling.
For more information about Jayne Murphy Shapiro, visit www.shapiro2000.com. For information on Fran Pavley, visit
www.fran2000.com

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Print Issue: Got College? | Mar 29, 2024

With the alarming rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, choosing where to apply has become more complicated for Jewish high school seniors. Some are even looking at Israel.

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.